Anchor stowage



April 4, 1961 c. A. WlNSLOW 2,977,921

5 ANCHOR STOWAGE' Original Filed Feb. 15, 1957 III) YIIIIIII IN V EN TOR. 67/41?! 5 A W/A/SL 0W ency to tip the points of the .fiultes down and make a United States Patent 9 2 1 AN CHOR STGWAGE Charles A. Winslow, Oakland, Calif. (205 Martinique Ave., Paradise Cay, Tiburon, Calif.)

Original application Feb. 15, 1957, Ser. No. 640,392;

as 1. 4 m) The present invention is a division of application Ser. No. 640,392 and relates to new and novel; features in-an anchoring device wherein the design andproportions of the anchor are relied on for holding power, rather than its weight as has been the case informer conventional designs. Conventional anchors, commonly used in the past have been relatively heavy in proportion to their holding power and/or clumsy to handleand hard to stow when not in use.

For purposes of classification and to distinguish clearly the advantages of the present invention, anchors in general can be divided into three groups, the so-called kedge anchor, the stockless anchor and the Danforth-type anchor in general appearance similar to U.S. Navy Department Mark II LWT-type anchor.

All of the foregoing anchors have advantages under certain circumstances but all have thedisadvantage that they have normally inclinedv surfaces which bring up from the bottom considerable amountsof heavy mud, c-lay, etc.-, when the anchor is raised. In addition to this bad feature, especially in small sizes, 'where anchors must be raised by hand, they all have the disadvantage that the flukes and/ or stock of the anchor have a tendency to dig into the hull of a vessel and scar the bottom and sides while the anchor is being drawn up either by handor power means.

,7 In the present invention this disadvantage of conventional anchors is overcome by a novel design which is not only simple to manufacture but has" holding power equal to or better than the best of the foregoing types of anchors previously mentioned.

I For instance, in the form shown on the drawings the anchor can be-made entirely from castings, either as a die casting or a sand casting, with no machining required tov complete the assembly other than what tools may be necessary to clean out holes formed by stock cores. The relatively flat form of the anchor is not only simple to manufacture but simple to use and stow aboard -a vessel. Due to thefact that ithas a three point contact when lowered to the bottom,.the points'of the flukes have a tendency to dig in immediately'regardless of the type bottom onto which the anchor is lowered. Therefore, due to the factthatthe crowns are located on the lower corners and the anchor is balanced so that approximatelyone-half the weight of the shank is added to the weights of the' fiukes, any dragging actionhas'a tendplaning surface downwardly on approximately a 30 angle to. p'eneti'ate -any type ofoverlayer to good holding, which a maybe clay or silt below a soft mud bottom; Therefore, weight-is not a relatively important factor as thedigging and holdingactions of the anchorare more, dependent on the unit.

.relativelythin cross section design than the weightof 2,977,921" Patented Apr. 4, 1961 2. of which it is constructed as long as the proper scope or length of anchor chain or cable is provided to insure the proper-attack angle of the fiukes on the bottom. on the other hand, when the anchor cable is drawn aboard a vessel and the pull on the anchor shank becomes vertical the. present anchor invention will break loose from the bottom more easily than other conventional anchors for the reason that it iszpinioned or balanced close to the center of the total area resisting the vertical pull, thus providing a distinct advantage when the anchormust be brok n. ntai auled, beax Another important feature of the invention is the fact that, should theancholg behppeles sly fouled under a rock, root, stump, etc. it;can be retrievedwithout damage to the anchor or ground tackle, boat, etc., by the provision of 'a safety shear pin, which normally limits the.- travel of the points of the flukes to a attack angle on either; sideof the shank, thus when an anchor is fouled and a vertical pull is exerted on'the shank, the shearpinof' a predetermined strength can be sheared and this provides a safety feature wherein the shank swi gs b ck pp o m e y -16 makin i pos ib to pull the anchor out backwards with no damage to anything except the shear pin whichoan be replaced in a few minutes after the anchor is retrieved. This feature Of the invention makes it unnecessary to provide a second line or control cable to the anchor been common 1 practice in, the past and illustrated by such patents as -#,2,674,970, dated April 13, 1954, tO ,C. F. Andrews, #2-,540,8.67, issued February 6, 1,951, to D. V. Douglas and others. I

I. have determined that safe operation of vessels to be moored by anchors and released from anchorage embraces other features than those presentwhile the ground tackle is being employed on the bottom or being raised. For instance, getting the anchor aboard ship and provid: ing safe stowage. in rough weather is also an important feature, as. is illustrated by. Patent #735,985, issued August 11, 1903, to I. Kitt and also Patent #323,774, dated August 4, 1885, to S. Baxter and others.

The present invention provides not only a balanced anchor wherein the anchor comes up with the fiukes means orotherwise. Thus, a streamlined, flush closure ispossible for such vmsels as submarines, streamlined crowns-and the points of the dukes, so that as the anchor 5 by the resistance and rotating effect of the crowns to. cause the points to dip and finally-by the'total surface Ano h r? m i e i p ie f tilre c the in e tion ear-a lands on'the bottom, it can be caused to plane downwardly through silt or loose sand toa firm underlayer; first area of the twin flukes which have a minimum resistance ...and excellent digging power due to its relatively small cross sectional area in proportion to its large/fluke area :and novel designrather than-the weight of the unititself; After 5 1116 anchbr can the rai ed and brokeaclear of generally the bow of a conventional cruiser indicating an anchor hanging from the novel hawsepipe, ready to be withdrawn therein and safely stowed by simply winding in the anchor cable.

Fig. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the bow of a vessel indicating a section through the hawsepipe illustrating the method by which the anchor is withdrawn by power means and showing a door, if desired, which can be closed either manually, electrically or automatically by the upper crowns of the anchor as it is withdrawn into the hawsepipe thus pulling the door closed behind it andremaining secure until released for further use by slacking the anchor cable.

Fig. 3 is a view of the flat side of the anchor invention indicating a shank positioned between large area twin fiukes and pinioned on approximately half the area between the bottom and the points of the fiukes and further showing the crowns positioned on the lower edge near the outside edges of the anchor.

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the anchor invention looking from below the crowns toward the points of the fiukes and shank and illustrates the relatively small cross sectional area of the anchor.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the anchor illustrating the points of the fiukes being parallel with the shank when the anchor is raised by attachment of a cable to the eye in the upper end of the shank. It further illustrates the swing position of the shank to a maximum of approximately 30 from dead center to the optimum position of the shank when carried to its operating position on the bottom.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3 and illustrates the position of the shank and the relation of the stop means and shear pin with the shank, shown vertically disposed as when being raised off the bottom on a 30 angle as in normal anchoring use and swung back approximately 155-160" as when the shear pin would be broken, thus releasing the anchor shank to swing back for withdrawing the anchor out backwards from a position where the fiukes may be fouled under a rock, root, etc.

Fig. 7 further illustrates the method by which the upper crowns of the anchor contact a spring latch on the inside. of a hawsepipe closure, thus as the anchor is withdrawn into the hawsepipe the crowns contact the spring latch and close the door as the anchor is withdrawn into the pipe, thus securing the anchor and the door with a complete closure of the howsepipe, as might be desired in the case of flying boats or where a complete closure of the hawsepipe is desired.

Referring to the drawing, 10 in Fig. 1 illustrates the anchor invention generally hanging from a hawsepipe 11, of a conventional power cruiser 12. It is to be understood that the bottom part 13 of the anchor outweighs the top or fiukes part 14 of the anchor, thus the points of the throughout the I Referring to Fig. 2, the anchor generally is referred to by the reference character 10. The numeral 19 indicates the upper end of the hawsepipe 11, the numeral 16 indictaes a cable passing over a pulley 17 and controlling a winch 18, and the numeral 9 indicates the shank of the anchor held in a hawsepipe 11 by the cable 16. The relatively heavy crowns 20 are shown as drawn into the hawsepipe until they fit snugly top and bottom, thus preventing further movement after the assembly of the cable 16, the shank 9 and and the anchor 10 are all drawn up snug in the pipe. When desired, a door 21 can be provided, pinioned on a hinge 22 and arranged to close the hawsepipe as indicated at 23. A spring clip 24 is provided which is designed to be contacted by the crowns of the anchor 20 when it is drawn into the hawsepipe by the cable as indicated at 16. This is more clearly shown in Fig. 7 and will be described later.

It is thus to be understood that the combined design of the anchor and hawsepipe make it possible to lower the anchor for use by either manual or power means and after use to retrieve and stow the anchor in a hawsepipe by the same means without the necessity of any manual manipulation whatsoever to safely haul the anchor in, stow and secure it, even to the extent if necessary, of providing a closure or door which can be automatically closed after the anchor is drawn into the pipe by the means shown and more fully described and illustrated in Fig. 7.

Referring to Fig. 3, the shank 9 is shown as positioned centrally between the fiukes 15 with a suitable eye 25 above and pinioned as indicated at 26 on a shaft 8 which passes completely through the width of the anchor. A shear pin 27 is provided which passes through the shank 9 and the two spacer plates 28, which are also pinioned on the pinion shaft 8 as indicated at 26. A slot 29 is provided so that the shank 9 can swing back to approximately 160 from center when the shear pin 27 is broken. This is more clearly shown in Fig. 6 and will be described in detail later. Ribs 30 are provided to strengthen the crowns 20 and to prevent them from being caught or hung up on rocks, etc., which might prevent the anchor from properly holding when it is dragged ahead by the cable and shank 9.

In Fig. 4 the anchor is viewed from the bottom and like reference characters are used indicating the various parts, thus it will be noted that the spacers 28 which are riveted by a shear pin into the shank 9 are positioned bea tween the ribs 34 which run parallel from the top to the bottom of the fiukes. It is to be understood from this view that all of the parts, that is, first, the casting comprising the fiukes, crowns, ribs, etc., second, the shank 9 and, third, the two stop spacers 28 are all centered and held in place by the shaft 8, thus comprising the entire completely cast unit of the anchor invention.

Fig. 5 generally indicates a side view of the anchor in a vertical position with the crowns and ribs 20 and 30 swinging the points of the fiukes 15 up and parallel with the axis of the shank 9. 9A indicates the relative position of the shank of the anchor in operating position approximately 30 from either side of dead center of the shank 9. The movement of the shank 9 is limited by the spacers 28 which are riveted through the shank 9 by a shear pin 27 and since they swing on the axis 8 they control and limit the operation of the shank by the points 31 which contact the surface of the anchor between the fiukes at 33.

stiffening ribs 34 are provided on the fiukes which run from the tips at 15 to the bottom or lowermost part of the anchor 13.

Fig. 6 indicates a diagrammatic sketch taken on the line 6-6 of Figures 3 and 4 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. It illustrates the relation of the various parts and particularly the operation of the shear pin 27 which permits the shank 9, shown when vertically disposed, to swing to the position 9A, '30 from center on either side'for'operating position of the anchor and further to position 9B, 125 further on, which permits the anchor to be drawn out backwards when the shear pin 27 is broken. In this case the three parts, the shank 9, the stop spacers 28 are liberated to sWing freely in any position until the shank, as shown at 9B, reaches the limit of travel in the slot 29 in the lowermost part of the anchor between the ribs 34. It is thus to be understood that in normal operation the parts 28 and shank 9 are all riveted together by a shear pin 27. Since the whole assembly is pinioned on the shaft 8, the 3 part unit normally revolves 30 on either side of center. This action is controlled and limited by the points 31 of the spacer and stop members 28 which limit its travel by contact with the anchor surface 33 between the ribs 34 and the lowermost part ofthe anchor. Furthermore, when the shear pin 27 is broken the shank 9 can swing freely back to the position shown at 9B until it reaches the limit of its travel in the slot 29. In this position the anchor can be drawn out backwards if fouled.

Referring to Fig. 7, the crown of the anchor 20 is shown contacting the spring clip 24, which is fastened to theswinging door 21, which indicates how the upper side of the crowns of the anchor 20 contact the clip 24 and pull the door 21 closed by swinging it on the hinge 22, thus closing the hawsepipe automatically as the anchor is drawn in, either manually or by power winch 18 as indicated in Fig. 2.

Therefore, having clearly described my invention, what drawn completely thereinto beyond the outer surface thereof and is maintained therein by said cable attachment; a swinging door for said hawsepipe opening; and means on said anchor for automatically closing said door when said anchor is drawn into said hawsepipe.

2. The combination comprising: a vessel having a hull with a rectangular hawsepipe opening therein; a balanced anchor having flukes and a shank and means to swing said flukes parallel with said shank when said anchor is raised; a cable attached to said anchor and means for winding in said cable into said hawsepipe for pulling said anchor into said hawsepipe, said anchor having crowns; a swinging door on the outer end of said hawsepipe; and means actuated by said anchor crown for closing said swinging door when said anchor is pulled into said hawsepipe, thereby sealing said hawsepipe.

Kidd Aug. 11, 1903 Winslow Sept. 15, 1959 

